“I can’t decide.” Jacob’s best friend Andy shook his head and took the opportunity to move ahead of him in line at the counter to order his bagel and coffee. 12 kinds of bagels, whole, sliced, or sliced and toasted, 4 flavors of cream cheese, 3 coffee flavors, 4 kinds of coffee creamer, 3 colors of sugar packets – 10,800 options. But was it the number of options interfering with the decision?
At the table, Andy eyed Jacob’s plain, whole bagel as it was being served. The aroma from Andy’s toasted cinnamon and raisin bagel topped with honey walnut cream cheese wafted comfort. “How’s work?” Andy asked. Jacob sighed. The report would be the same as it had been for the last several bagel and coffee get-togethers.
“The clients that come to our marketing agency often need help clarifying their purpose, their message. We have a great process from Donald Miller at StoryBrand to help them develop their story pitch. Let me run through the steps with you. Having a personal story pitch may be exactly what you need,” Andy said.
“No way.” Jacob motioned his hands like a confused referee.
“I was right about Jessica,” Andy stated flatly.
Jessica. That was a disaster.
Jacob waved his hand inviting Andy to proceed. Andy retrieved his journal from his jacket pocket to take notes. “What do you find to be an injustice or unfairness that you would want to right if you could?”
Jacob considered the question seriously and replied, “I want to make automated machinery safer to use and maintain.” On articulating the thought that was for so long submerged just below the surface of his consciousness, Jacob sat up a bit straighter. At the same time, he held his breath, waiting for his friend’s reaction.
“Cool.”
Jacob exhaled.
“Next,” Andy continued, “for someone who wants to make automated machinery safer, what are the key characteristics this person needs to have or acquire?”
Thoughtfully Jacob answered, “Continually learning about new approaches to safety, good mechanical engineering skills, be a good communicator.”
Andy paused. “Good communicator?” Jacob explained how educating the people who interact with the machinery need to understand how it works and what the safety features are for the safety measures to be as effective as possible. “Your mission statement might be more like: I want to make automated machinery safer to use and maintain through design and education.”
Jacob’s eyes widened. “Exactly!”
Andy continued, “What critical actions do you need to take to be able to demonstrate the key characteristics?”
Jacob thought for a moment and replied, “Regularly attend new safety webinars, ask one of the senior mechanical engineers to mentor me, and facilitate education sessions.”
Andy noted all of this in his journal and nodded in approval. “Why is doing this imperative?”
“People need to be able to contribute and be safe, arriving home whole and well.” Andy paused for a moment and looked at Jacob knowingly. He continued, “Final step. The personal story pitch.” Andy scribbled in his journal while Jacob sipped his coffee.
“How about this? Automated machinery is a mainstay of manufacturing, but if proper safety measures are not taken, the people who operate and maintain the equipment can be at risk. Due to lack of education about the machines and outdated approaches to safety, people who interact with the machines are put in physical and emotional danger. I provide safety education, and use the latest approaches to design and update safety measures for machines.”
A patron from the next table leaned over and said, “That’s an engaging introduction.”
Jacob looked down at his plain, whole, room temperature bagel. “I’ve got some big decisions to make,” he said with a grin.
tl;dr
Making decisions can feel overwhelming if you don’t know who you aspire to be. With a bit of life experience, we develop a sense of who we should be helping or what we want to be improving, but it’s not always easy to identify and articulate. The personal story pitch process by Donald Miller is one approach to uncovering a life direction that resonates with us in a way that makes life meaningful.
engineer your life
Craft your own personal story pitch and life plan. Reference the following blogs to create a mission statement, identify key characteristics and critical actions, explain why it’s imperative that you do this work, and write a personal story pitch.
- #46 https://q2leader.com/46-whats-your-story-find-out-with-these-5-steps/
- #47 https://q2leader.com/47-where-do-you-see-yourself-in-10-years-no-really-lets-find-out/
- #48 https://q2leader.com/48-key-and-critical-what-you-need-to-carry-out-your-mission/
references:
- Podcast: Building a StoryBrand with Donald Miller, episode “#180: How to Create a Personal Life Plan before 2020” This is a great podcast where Donald Miller gives details on the process and works through an example with J.J. Peterson.
- I assumed you order a bagel and a coffee, but cream cheese, coffee creamer, and sugar are optional (i.e. “none” is an option for these items).
